The invention relates to an automatic signal emitter mounted on a vehicle to emit a rescue request signal automatically in response to an emergency.
In the event of a traffic accident, an occupant of an automobile involved in the accident may request emergency assistance telephoning the police station if he is not seriously injured. If all the occupants of an automobile which encountered the accident are immovable, a passer-by will usually make the required communication. However, if the accident has occurred on a sparsely inhabited mountain roadway where there is little traffic and there is no communication means available even if one of the occupants is a delay will be caused in rescue which could lead to disastrous results. On the other hand, a proposal is made heretofore that an emergency signal emitter be provided on a rescue raft provided on marine vessels, for example. In addition, for aircraft, an apparatus is proposed which detects an acceleration of the aircraft in the fore-and-aft direction and which develops an emergency signal automatically in response to the acceleration in excess of a given value.
However, with road vehicles, a variety of different types of accidents are possible, making it difficult to provide an automatic emitter that will work under all conditions signal. For example, it is possible for an automobile to collide with a forwardly running vehicle, with a rearwardly following vehicle, or with a laterally spaced vehicle, to roll over, to fall along an inclined surface such as a cliff or fall into the water. Accordingly, if a conventional automatic emergency signal emitter is mounted on the vehicle, there is the possibility that a signal can be automatically emitted in the event of an accident with little effect if any. For automobiles, accidents of various types may occur in which the life of an occupant may be saved by an immediate rescue if he is immovable. Accordingly, it will be seen to provide it is highly advantageous that a signal that can be reliably and automatically emitted in the event of an accident.